System of railway mail collection



Nov. 1, 1932. 1.. s. ADAMS I 1,885,212

SYSTEM OF RAILWAY MAIL COLLEC,TION

' Filed Dec. 51, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

fi- Egg. 4 55X attain/e41 Zlwvantoz Nov. 1, 1932. L. s; ADAMS SYSTEM OFRAILWAY MAIL COLLECTION Filed Dec. 51, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 1,1932. L. s. ADAMS 1,885,212

SYSTEM OF RAILWAY MAIL COLLECTION Fild Dec. 31, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet s Nm 1H] 64 as 6 -61 66 g 75 72 617 E 2 Ly/l'lndiAdamd Nov. 1, 1932. s.ADAMS SYSTEM OF RAILWAY MAIL COLLECTION Filed Dec. 51, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet .4

v 71402672 lr zlflll Patented Nov. 1,. 1932 i LY'rL'n nnrmsgonwesmnoroni ms'rnrcir on c oLUMBIA svs'rn rjjo'r RAILWAY AIL coiLEcrIoN'f ii liafion filea n ee be; 31.1930; Serial mlsoassa P This inventionrelates to the use of railway cars, and more especially subway cars, for

collecting mail and delivering it'at a postal station on the'line,andaims to provide automatic means forso doing, thereby permitting.

frequent collections tobe made and relieving the streets of some ofthevehicular 'trafiic that has been required heretofore for mailcollections. I p

Objects of theinvention are to increase the utility of subway cars inlarge cities byadapt-J ing them for collecting. letter mail and lightpackages from passengers, street collection boxes and building mailchutesalong the sub-1 way, and to provide suitablemeans on the cars andalong thetrack for mutual cooper? and supplementing the air mail inproviding a more rapid delivery, and to enable the transportationcompany to increase its reve- .nue withf-very little additionaloperating cost;

Other objects and advantages of the invention appear in connection withthe following description of an illustrative embodimentas shown in theaccompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side view of-a standardsubway.

carused in cities onthe eastern seaboard of the United States, providedwith mail col the arrangement of a mail chute to discharge into asuitable receptacleon the car below; Fig. 5 is a lengthwise verticalsection of the same, showing the detail construction of the lower endofthedischarging chute and upper portion of the receiving hopper orchute on the car, showing the parts about to engage upon. movement ofthe car in thedirection of the arrows; Fig. 6'is a similar viewlookingatthe'car from the opposite side; y j

Fig. 7 's an enlarged transverse section of the same, showing? the chuteclosure and roof trap parts in maildeliveringposition; Fig. 8 is avertical section of. the same on the line 88 in Fig.7

. Fig. 9 is a plan viewofthe trackand stationary mail receiving hoppershowing the lower end of the 'car chute in cross-section T on the line99 in Fig. 10; v V Fig. 1Q is a vertical; longitudinal section of thesame on the line 10. 10 in Fig. 9; I

K Fig. I1 is.a,vertical;cross-section on the line 11 -11 in Fig. 10 of.the trackhopper and lower-endofthe car chute, showing the parts in maildelivering position;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view ofithe end of i0 the track hopper,sh0wingthe parts in normal position in full lines, and in mail dischargingposition in dottedlines; a I 1 Fig. 13 is -a vertical longitudinalsection through the lower end-of the car receptacle and side view ofvthe track hopper, showing the car bottom1doo-r-and hopperdoor in closedposition; V e v I Fig. l4 is a partial side view of the track 7 hopper,etcalooking'atth'e opposite side from a Fig: 13;

.Fig. 15 is a transverse vertical section of the lower part ofthe carand track, showing 7 the track. hopper in end elevation, on the line15;15' inFig. 14, the operating parts being shown in mail dischargingposition and Fig. 16 is a partside viewand part, crosssection of adetail of the apparatusillustrated inFig. 13, to a larger scale.

As is well known, the cars; or trains operat- V ed in subways in largecities are dispatched on a fast schedule at frequent intervals, so

that a large number ofjcars'or trains pass a given, point in an hour,thusmaking possible collections from chutes and .receptacl'eslocatedalong the line at veryfrequent intervals.

invention contemplates locating dischargev hoppers at convenient pointsalong the lineto receive the mail collected by, the cars, therebysecuring an almost "continuous discharge at its'lower end into one ormore track hoppers 24: (see Fig. 1) preferably positioned between thetrack rails 25. The car receptacles may be located centrally in theears, as illustrated, or wherever convenient.

In the illustrated apparatus, each station ary receptacle or chute: 26)is provided with a gate 26 at; its lower end and a second gate 27 spacedabove its lower end. These gates maybe pivoted or otherwise arranged toopen and close alternation, that is, when the lower gate is in its usualclosed position the upper gate-is open, and vice versa,.as-illustratedin Figs. 7 and 8, thereby preventing an undue discharge of mail at atime. The gates 26 ,21, areactu'ated by them-oving car'through anyconvenientmeans, that illustrated comprising a gear sector 28 on thepivot shaft of the gate26 meshin-gwith a sector 29 on an operating shaft3t) having anarm 31 provided with a roller 32" adapted to be engaged andlifted by the angle plate 3'8, which is mount-- ed on. the outside ofone side wall of the hopper 23 on the car. The upper gate is connectedto the sector 29 by'm'eans of a link 34-0011- nected through a springrelief device- 35 with the arm 36 on the pivot shaft of the gate 27. Thespring relief device contains acompression spring 37 so disposed as notto-interfere with the opening of the upper gate when the lowergate'cl'oses, but to permit the lower'gate tooperr wi-thout closing theupper gate should it be jammed for any reason. A spring 38 attached tothe gear sector 29* 'normall y holds the lower gate closed and: theupper gateopen'. These operating parts are suitably housed in a casing40 on the outside of the chute 20.

The lower end of the chute 26' is provided with a flexible tube 11 ofcanvas or othersuitahle material to: guide the mail into the hopper 23",this tube being'l'ong' enough to extend between its side walls; whichproject above the end walls, as shown in. Fig. 7, to prevent mail fromspilling over the side of the hopper between it the lower end of thechute. The length of the hopper issufficient' to prevent mail fromspilling over its ends during thetimethat'the lower gate 26 is open, thetrack 33. bein substantially shorter thanrthe hopper to shorten thespace inter val: that the gate 26 is open.

The hopper 23' is provided with hinged doorsor covers l'3,. t4,.pivoted.lentghwise of its side walls to open downwards when the car movesbeneath the chute 2.0, as. indicated in full lines in Fig. 7. Anyconvenient mechanism' may be utilized for this purpose, that showncomprising gear sectors on the ends of the pivot shafts for the doors,which mesh together to cause the doors to swing in unison.

mounting secured to the lower end of the chute 20, or other stationarysupport, as illus trated in Fig. 6, to open the doors 43, 44'.

The-mounting 52 and roller 51 are normally' held in proper position toengage and depress the cam rail; by means of a spring relief strut 53,shown in Fig. 16. This strut com.- prises a link 54 pivoted to themounting arm 52 and. carrying a spring case: within which the spring 55'is held compressedby an adj-use ing: rod 56.. The upper end oftheadjusting rod 56 is pivoted to a fixed part of the roof structure.Lock nuts 5'? hold the adjusting rod in its proper relation to the link54; to

adjust the length of the strut to hold the arm 52 and roller: 51. at theproper elevation to actuate the hopper doors: 43 44,. when the car:moves the: latter beneath the chute 20-. Should any obstruction.strikethe roller 51 orarnm 52 the spring 55' would give and permit thestrut 53 to sh'orten, thus preventing any mishap to the apparatus.

The. track hopper 2d.- and' actuating: means for. the: gate 60 at thelower end of the car receptacle 22' and doors 61 coveringtheh-opperfopening. may be similar in construction to:

the corresponding parts of the chute 20 and car hopper 23 (:see Figs. 9to 1-5, inclusive).

The gate 69 is preferably actuated by a gear sector: 62 meshing: with asecond gear sector 63pivotedtothe lower end of the chute 22and providedwith an arm 64: and roller 65 for engagement with the angle track 66 onthe side wallio f the hopper. The hopper doors 61 are pivoted uponlengthwise shafts 67 having meshing gearsectors 68-at their ends tocause them to swing. down and back together. Upon the ends of one, ofthe shafts 67 are fixedi small gear sectors 69, and loosely pivoted onthe ends of the" other shaft 67 are large gear sectors 70 meshing wlththe sectors 69.

Arms 71 carried. by the gear sectors 70 have a roller track 72 fixed totheir ends for actuating the gear sectors when the car passes over'thehopper24, the springs 73 enclosed inthetelescoping housings 74 pivotedon the ends of the shaft 67 normally holding the hopper'doors in closedposition. The actuatmeans on the car foropening the hopper doorscomprises a roller ona pivoted arm 76 maintained in proper position by aspring strut 7 7 similar to thespring strut 53. v

A flexible extension 78 is secured on the lower end'of the receptacle22, .to guide loose The. receptacle .mayv also be fittedwith letter dropslots? 9 within mail into the hopper.

the carfor the-convenience of passengers.

' As shownin Fig. 7 the side walls of the hoppers may be 'provided withslots 80 immediately above the door pivot'shafts to permit dirt, waterand debris to pass off the doors v and outside of the hopper, the doorssloping towards the'slots for thispurpose; andthe doors mayadvantageously be shaped to inter-- engage along their edgesto preventrain'and snow and dirt from getting into thehopper.

A draft deflector 81 may'advantageously be fitted to the lowerend of thereceptacle '23; to provide a downward current of air aroundthe mouth ofthe receptacle tending to suckv air through it fronithetop end and aidin delivering loose mail into the hopper in the track. K

For the accommodation of street mail collectors a deposit chute 85 maybe provided on the chute 20 at a convenientheight above the sidewalk toreceive mail tromthe-collectors wagon or pouch. It-is contemplated thatthese chutes will be located near stopping points of the cars so astoreduce wear and tear on the equipment due-to unduly high runningspeed.

The'operation of the equipment 'isenti'rely automatic from the time themail or package is deposited'in the root chute 20' until it'isdischarged into a track hopper 24, the movement of the car'causing thegates inthechutes and hopper doors to open" and close at the propertimes for the respective cars to pick" up and deliver such mail ascollects in the stationary receptacles in the interim.

Means are provided for preventing injury tothe parts of the apparatusshould moving i parts foulfixed partsorsomethinggo'wrong,

and for keeping the weather out of the receptacles and chutes. Theworking parts are few and easily accessible for'inspection and repair.

attention. No radical changes or rearrangement of essentialconstructional or operat ng features in the'car or track are required inThere are vno motors or othercon tlnuously running parts requiringfrequent Isclaim the following as my invention: y 1 E 1. Asystem of mailor package collection. comprising a succession of movmg cars on atrack,stationary chutes located along the track and adapted to dischargeintothe-Path of movement of thec'ars, ahopper on each car adapted toreceive articles from said'chutes, I

control gates on said chutes andhoppershaving means actuated by movementof individ- '1 mil cars toopen said gates in synchronism and o means torclosing said gates automatically :2. A system of'mail or packagecollection comprising succession of moving cars ona track,stationarychutes located along the track and adapted to, discharge intothe path of movement of the cars, a hopper on each car adaptedto receivearticles from said chutes,

a receiving station on the track,-a discharge V chut'e insaid hopperadapted toregister with i said receiving station, control gates on saidreceiving station, chutes and hoppers having closures actuated bymovement of individual cars to'open said closures and gates in syn-'chron-ism and means for closlng said gates" and closures automatically.7 i

' I A system of mail or package collection comprising a successionofmovin'g cars on a track, stationary chutes located along the track andadaptedrto discharge intothe path of movement of thecars, a hopper oneach car adapted to receive articles from said chutescontrol'gatesonsaid chutes and hop pers having meansactuated movement ofindividual cars to open said gates in.synchro-' nism, and means forclosing said gates auto-'= matically, 1 including spring meansarrangedto permit openingthem when said'car actu 'ated means o'peratesi4.. Asystem of mail or package collection for'subways comprising spacedchutes-discharging'into thesubwaytunnel above the track level, carsprovided with hoppers adapted to register with said chutes,-closures forsaid chutes and hoppers, and-means'ac tuated' by "movement of saidrespective cars for opening. saidclosureswhen 1n reglster with eachother, said closures" normally being closed. j p

5. A system ofxmail or package'collection for subways comprising spacedchutes disc'harginginto the subway tunnel above the track level, carsprovided with hoppers adapted to register with said chutes, said'hoppersdischarging' at near the track level, a

stationary receiving receptacle, closures for and means actuated bymovement of said re said receiving receptacle, chutes and hoppersspective cars for opening said closures when in register with eachmallyheingclosed.

6. A system of mail or package collection forsubways comprising spacedchutes discharging intdthe subway tunnel above the track level, carsprovided with hoppers adapted to registerwith said chutes, a sta other,said closures nortionaryreceivingtreceptacle,closures forf saidneoeivingmeoeptacle, chutes and: hoppers, and means": actuated" bymovement of sa d respective cars for opening; said closures when inregister with each other,.said* means includmgzsprings forpermlttmgamovement of saidparts'to prevent breakage in case of fouling.

or derangement.

7.. In combination-with a track and a passenger car running thereon, afixed chute mounteditodischarge abovesaidtrack', a hopper alongsidethetrack below the discharge level of said chute, and a chute passingthrough the car for receiving articles from: saidchute and: dischargingarticles into said: hopper.

from said'chute and discharging articles intosaid-hopper, saidlast namedchute having an I opening into it from thecar permitting deposit ofarticles therein by passengers.

9; Incombination. with a track and a pas-.

sengerv car running thereon, afixed chute mounted to discharge abovesaid track, a hopper alongside the track below the. discharge level ofsaid chute, anda chute passing through the car for. receiving, articles.from: said chute and discharging. artlcles intosaid hopper, said lastnamed. chute having: an opening into it from the car permitting depositof articles. therein byh'passengers, and.

means operated by movement of. the car for opening said chutes tocontrol the discharge of articles therefrom.

IO. In combination with atrack and apassengercar running. thereon, afixed chute mounted tov discharge above said track, ahopper alongsidethe track below the discharge level of said chute, and a chute passingthrough the car for receiving articles from said: chute and dischargingarticles into said hopper, said last: namedt chute having an openinginto it from the car permitting deposit of articles therein bypassengers, and means operated: by movement of the car for opening saidchutes and automatic means for closing them to control the discharge ofarticles therefrom.

11. In a system of railway mail collection, a car having a hopper at anupper level and chute leading therefrom to a lower level, a closure forsaid hopper, a gate for said chute, means for normally holding saidclosure and gate closed, and means for actuating saidclosure to openwhen the car passes a fixed point for delivering. articles to saidhopper.

12. In a system of railway mail collection, a car having a hopper atanupper level and chute leading. therefrom to a lower level, a closure forsaid hopper,a gate for said chute. means for normally holding saidclosure and gate closed, and. means for actuating said gate-to openwhenxthe car passesa fixedpoint for discharging articles from saidchute.

13.. Ina system'of railway mailcollection, a: track running, below astreet,spaced de-- posit chutes having openings above said street leveland extending below said street levelto discharge above said tracklevel,gates for the dischargeopeningsofsaid chutes,.cars on said track andreceptacles on said cars, and means. on said cars operated by movementthereof for opening said: gates when said chutes register, with saidreceptacles.

14. In a-system of railway mail collection, a track. running belowastreet, spaced deposit chutes having, openings above said street leveland extending below said street level. todischarge above said tracklevel, gates for the discharge openings ofrsaid chutes, gates in saidchutes above the dis charge openings, means for closin the upper and.openingthe lower gates simultane ously, cars on said tracli a'ndreceptacles on said cars, and means on said cars operated by movement.thereof for opening said lower gates when said chutes register withsaid-re ceptacles.v V

15. In a railway mail collectionsystem, a series of collectionreceptacles locamd along thetrack having discharge openings spaced.above the tracklevel, cars on the track. provided with hoppers below thelevel of said discharge openings and above the level ofthetrack, coversfor said hoppers, said covers being pivoted to swing into said hoppers,springs for holding said covers closed, op-' erating means for openingsaid covers, and. means positioned. adjacent. said dischargeopenings forengaging said cover operating means and swingin said covers'into openposition. V V

16. In a railway'mail collection system, a series of collectionreceptacles located: along the track having discharge openings spacedabove the track level, cars on the track provided with hoppers below thelevel of said discharge. openings and above the level of the track,covers for said hoppers, said covers being pivoted to swing into saidhoppers, springs for holding said covers closed, operating means foropening said covers, including a roller and track, and. means positionedadjacent said discharge openings for engag ing said cover operatingmeans and. swinging said covers into open position.

17. Ina railway mail collection. system comprising cars running on afixed track hoppers on the cars and chutes spaced above the track leveland disch r ing into said hop-- pers, said chutes having flexibleextremities to avoid injuring said cars in case of fouling, closures forthe hoppers means associ-' ated with said chutes for opening saidclosures, and resilient means supporting said closure opening meanspermitting'wi'thdraw comprising cars running on a fixed track,

al thereof to prevent dainage in, case of fouling amoving car. v

18'. In a railway mail collect-ion system I hoppers on the cars, andchutes spaced above the track level and discharging'into said hoppers,closuresfor the hoppers, weatherprooflng means for sa1d closures, meansforopenlng said closures, and reslllent'means supporting said closureopening means. I a

19. A mail collecting apparatus for use 0 I passenger cars travelingfixed routes having I established stopping places provided with depositand collection receptacles, said apparatus comprising an elongatedhopper arranged lengthwise of the roof of the car, and

a chute leading therefrom through the floor of the car, a weatherproofclosure for said 7' hopper and a gate for said chute, and means foropening said closure and gate, respectively, at recelving and dischargestations to cooperate with said deposit and collection'receptacles. V

20. A passenger car having side doors,'a

V chute extending from the roof to beneath the floor of said caropposite said doors, mail olepositslots 1n said chute convenient topassengers using said doors, a, hopper in the roof discharging into saidchute, and a gate below said slots to control the discharge from saidchute, and 'meansfor actuating said gatea In testimony whereof, I havesigned my name to this specification.

' LY'VILE; s. ADAMS.

